With their system analysis, the Borussia managers seem to have hit the mark. In Leverkusen you have to worry despite the victory, and the BVB lands an emotional liberation blow.

1. Alassane Pléa is the type of player Gladbach has missed

The Gladbach officials were unusually open before the season, letting the public share the motives for their actions. Last season’s analysis had shown that the Borussia system had decoded with the ninth falling back into midfield, so a new one was urgently needed. Other tactics, fresh staff: For Alassane Pléa, their new striker, the Borussians spent the record sum of 23 million euros. The 25-year-old had often played on the wing of his last club OGC Nizza. Dieter Hecking and Max Eberl nevertheless saw him as an – expensive – ideal solution in the attack centre.

A risky investment that seems to pay off. Right at his first use as a substitute he scored the equalizer in Augsburg, in Berlin he was successful and also in the 3:1 against Eintracht Frankfurt he showed his value for the VfL. The 1-0 went to his account, one of six (!) shots on goal of the Frenchman. Finally the Borussia has again a man in the center, who can also hold physically against it. He had nine aerial duels and his presence made it possible to keep the midfield row more compact and to move up in order. The reward after the fifth matchday: fourth place. Tendency ascending.

2. Dortmund lands an emotional liberation blow

One could now talk a lot about the statistical values of BVB’s 7:0 against 1 FC Nürnberg. About the 865 passes played, 92.8 percent of which went to the other player, the twelve shots from inside the penalty area or the tactical nuances with the wing strikers placed so far outside as never before this season. Or the hopelessly overstretched players of their opponents. All of this underestimates the emotional impact this cant win could have in the traditionally sensitive BVB environment.

Even after four wins and two draws in the first six games of the competition, the fear of a new season of eight and a half was palpable. The longing for the spectacle, the klopp’schen “always full throttle”. After this 7:0, the sporting subordinate Götze-Theater is dimmed, instead there is new material worth talking about: premiere goal by Manuel Ankanji, Achraf Hakimi and Jacob Bruun Larsen, the hits of the substitute Jadon Sancho and Julian Weigl. The confirmation that this much longed-for spectacle under Lucien Favre actually seems possible. This is probably the most important insight from Dortmund’s point of view.

Achraf Hakimi Honours

Real Madrid

UEFA Champions League: 2017–18

FIFA Club World Cup: 2017

3. Leverkusen must worry despite his victories

Bayer Leverkusen is still one of the league’s problem children despite their third compulsory game victory within six days. In terms of results, the team of coach Heiko Herrlich caught up after three defeats at the start of the season. The Leverkusen team, however, do not play well.

In the first half, they let themselves be completely overrun by the rising Fortuna Düsseldorf. The scoring record: 0:8! Düsseldorf’s coach Friedhelm Funkel mirrored the Leverkusen 4-2-3-1 and managed direct duels in midfield. These duels were won in the first half mostly by the Düsseldorf team, Leverkusen did not even come before the goal of Michael Rensing. Casino Heroes Bonus has a welcoming bonuses for their new players.

Leverkusen corrected the result in the second 45 minutes and won with 2:1 in the end, but in the next game against Borussia Dortmund Herrlich can come up with something. The close victories against Ludogorezk Razgrad, Mainz 05 and now Düsseldorf were a victorious Leverkusen, but not a convincing one.

The Uefa will decide today whether to award the 2024 European Football Championship to Germany or Turkey. The prospects for the country are bleak – and for President Erdogan it’s about more than sport.

Bagi’s Erten is torn back and forth. He is a football fan. If Turkey were to host the 2024 European Football Championship, he says, a childhood dream would come true for him. Erten is also a journalist, however. He has been reporting from Turkey for Eurosport for many years. “As a journalist, I wonder what message would come from a European Championship in Turkey,” he says.

The European Football Association (Uefa) will decide on Thursday in Nyon (from 2.45 pm) whether Germany or Turkey will be awarded the 2024 European Football Championship. Just on the day Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives for his state visit to Germany. In the country that is considered the favourite for the event. The Uefa has just classified the application of the German Football Association (DFB) as “creative” and “very professional”. Turkey did everything in its power to convince the UEFA Executive Committee to change its mind by 27 September.

Three applications, three failures

For Turkey, it’s about more than sport. The country has already tried three unsuccessful tournaments. A further refusal would be perceived as a disgrace by many Turks. President Erdogan, like other autocrats before him, hopes that the event will boost his popularity.

There are also good reasons for the Uefa to award the EM to Turkey: The Turks are as crazy about football as hardly any other nation. New stadiums have been built all over the country in recent years. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) is far in favour of the Uefa on economic issues. TTF leader Yildirim Demirören promises “unprecedented support”.

The fact that the Uefa nevertheless sees Germany in the lead in its latest evaluation report is mainly due to the political and economic upheavals in Turkey. President Erdogan has transformed his country into an autocracy in recent years. Thousands of opposition members are imprisoned, the media have been brought into line, and the courts have been deprived of their power. In its report, the Uefa criticises the “lack of an action plan on human rights” in Turkey.

Mixed feelings

In addition, Turkey is in the midst of a severe economic crisis. The lira has lost almost half its value against the dollar since the beginning of the year. Inflation has not been as high as it has been since 2003. The government has announced that it will stop a number of public construction projects for the time being. Several football clubs are on the verge of bankruptcy because they can no longer pay the dollar salaries of their stars.

In Turkey, many people are now following their association’s bid with mixed feelings: They are longing for the European Championship, but are already complaining about the costs associated with this major event. “I doubt that Turkey would currently be able to cope with such a major event,” says Volkan Agir, football columnist for the newspaper Gazete Duvar.

TFF leader Demirören does not want to accept these objections. He argues that it is Turkey’s fourth attempt to host the European Championship. Demirören is closely associated with President Erdogan. His family has just bought the Turkish daily “Hürriyet”.“Our president is showing his strong will to facilitate Turkey’s application for the European Championship and supports our candidacy across the board,” says a glossy magazine that the association has sent to international journalists.

A question of democracy

Erdogan himself played football semi-professionally in his youth. He still likes to demonstrate his closeness to football players. His photo shoot with the German national players Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan had caused a sensation and discussion in Germany for months.

The European Championship would be an opportunity for the Turkish president to distract attention from the economic crisis. Turkish opposition politicians, however, are urging the Uefa not to host the tournament in Turkey for this very reason. “Major sporting events should not be awarded to states in which there is no democracy and no justice,” says Ahmet Sik, a member of parliament from the left-wing pro-Kurdish party HDP. “The Erdogan regime would be legitimized by the EM from the international community.” Take a look at the Betfair Bonus to know about their promotions.

Offensive weak, not inspiring? That was before the 7:0 against Nuremberg, where the young players from Dortmund showed their best. That must worry some established players.

Marco Reus looked at the screen above the door to see the results of the other games. In the cabin aisle at Borussia Dortmund, the old-fashioned teletext is still used to depict the facts from the Bundesliga. Reus had never before read on this screen that his own club had won a home match 7:0 (2:0). It was 32 years ago, the videotext had just come into fashion, Reus hadn’t yet been born, that the BVB sent the rising star Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin home with a 0:7. Now he succeeded again against a rising star, against a harmless, overtaxed, desolate 1st FC Nuremberg. The club had conceded three goals in the four games before, now it was seven in one.

In football, it sometimes takes only 90 minutes to draw a distorted picture from statistics and analyses. For Borussia Dortmund it’s more serious, because Lucien Favre’s team was considered weak before the kick-off, uninspired and above all concerned with stability. Now she is by far the team with the most goals in the Bundesliga. “We are relieved. It’s been a great game for us,” Favre said to pass on to his mantra: “There’s still a lot of work to be done”.

Marco Reus Honours

Club

Rot Weiss Ahlen

Regionalliga: 2007–08

Borussia Dortmund

DFB-Pokal: 2016–17

DFL-Supercup: 2013

UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2012–13

Individual

Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16

Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2011–12, 2013–14

Bundesliga Breakthrough of the Season: 2011–12

Footballer of the Year in Germany: 2012

Goal of the Month (Germany): January 2012, June 2012, September 2012

UEFA Team of the Year: 2013

FIFPro World XI 5th team: 2013, 2014

Bundesliga Top Assists: 2013–14

Borussia Dortmund ‘Player of the Year’: 2013–14

UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2013–14

Reus and Bruun Larsen – a combination for the future

That evening he said that mainly because he had sent a rather young team to the pitch. Jadon Sancho, 18 years old, scored a good ten minutes after his substitution. Dan-Axel Zagadou, 19, replaced suspended central defender Abdou Diallo perfectly. The 19-year-old Achraf Hakimi, on loan from Real Madrid, made his debut as a right-back and shot his first Bundesliga goal. Jacob Bruun Larsen, 20, had also taken the early lead after Christian Pulisic, who was also only 20 years old.

“That was wonderful,” said Bruun Larsen, who had already been identified as a starting player during the preparation. But an injury had thrown him back. The Dane played against Nuremberg on the left side. Whether he must be expelled as a midfielder or striker in the tactical line-up is a matter of interpretation. Whether it was now a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 system, which Favre offered, could also be discussed. What is clear is that the composition fit better than in the weeks before.
Reus was always on the attack, but this time he was allowed to take a midfield start. This role suits him much better than the one at the top. The interaction with Bruun Larsen was remarkably good, so that this combination is to be expected more frequently in the coming weeks.

BVB’s offensive game had previously suffered from weakness in the centre of the attack third. Now that Reus occupied this room, BVB showed the most attractive football of the still young season. “We got our chances early and you can say that we were intoxicated,” said Reus, who had scored two goals, scored one and was replaced after just over an hour. Because already on Saturday in Leverkusen and four days later in the Champions League against AS Monaco more difficult tasks are ahead. “We need all the players. This mantra Favre also performed again”. Planet 7 Casino is one of the online casino gaming site that wanted to be acknowledge in the whole industry.

It should probably also include Mario Götze, who was missing from the squad again – for sporting reasons, as the coach said before the game. From the point of view of his abilities, Götze was created for the position on which Reus now shone. However, his lack of dynamism should ensure that Götze will only be able to make a few appearances in the medium term. Lukasz Piszczek, too, should get more breaks in the future after Hakimi’s convincing debut. He was already born when the videotext indicated the 7:0 of the BVB against Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin.